Shoe stretcher



, May 29,1923.

J. SCHWIND SHOE STRETGHER Filed June '7. 1922 l mu I n 0 en #0 r! Jae ob Jch wind I f sl tor'sTanrcrrnR.

Patented May 29, 1923.

UNITED. STATS 1,457,283 A TN oFF ca.

.mcon scnwrm), or PORTLAND, OREGON...

Application filed June '7,

To allwhom it may concern: v

- Beitkno-wn that I, JACOB SOHWIND, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Portland, county of Multnomah, and

State of 0regon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Shoe Stretcher, of which the following is a specification. i

The objectof my invention is to provide asimple and etficient'devicereadily inserted in the shoe, adjustable to all sizes of shoes, and easily operated for stretching the toe of the shoe so as to render the shoe comfortable to the wearer. I

' My invention relatesespecially to that type of shoe stretcher comprising a rack bar carrying a toe piece at one endand forced forward bya lever operated by a paw'land held againstreverse movement. I have discovered that one ofthe essentials of the con struction of a shoe stretcher of the type mentioned is that the toe piece be rigidly affixed to the end of the rack'barso that'the toe piece will have no" vertical play with regard to the latter, since such play is apt to be attendant with poor results and may even ruin theshoe. I,

' Furthermore, since, in the pawl and ratchet construction of the type referred to, looseness and play in a vertical plane of the ratchet bar itself is, unavoidable, theitoe piece when forced forward has frequently a tendency .to bear down, bending the sole downward withit'at the toe and correspondingly stretching the toe box out of shape and ruining the shoe. 'I prevent the last;fault referred to by affixing the toe piece to "the rack bar at an'angle as hereinafter more fully described; thus when the toe piece is forced intothe toe box of the shoe, the rack bar will be tilted to an angle with theghorizontal, while the toe piece Will assume its horizontal position. In other words, the toe piece is diposed angularly-to the rack bar and thus the'force is upwardand any tendency to bow will be counteracted by this inclination; and when my device is placed in the shoe and pressure applied, the same is forced straight out or slightly upward, and

thus conforms to the shape of a personsfoot. 1

The above mentioned construction and operation of my device and incidental features are illustrated in the accompanying draw ings, the latter showingias follows:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of my device,

1922. 'Serial No. 566,510.

a top or planview of m'y'device;

l with the handle bar disposed perpendicular and shows how the toe piece of my device is A disposed angularly to the rack bar and therefore to the horizontal plane in which my device acts, My shoe stretchercomprisesv a one piece base a having perpendicular parallel flanges b extending substantially the entire width of the base and which constitutea guide way in which the rack bar 0 slides-.- The back end of the'base a'is rounded asatd' to conform to the general outline. of theheel "and extends upward a substantial height. Tlie flanges?) are raised in two portions as eiand Be- .75 fixed pawl m which operates in the teethy of tween the raised portions e is a supplemental the rack bar; 0. 'This pawl is pivota'lly mounted on the pin 7; which is fixed'in placev between these two raised sections. A block 2' is pivotally mounted on the 'shaft j which is fixed between the raised sections 7. block has a vertical socket' z'" which is adaptable to receive a handle bar y. Disposed normal to this soc' ket fare apa'ir of cars l. I A; pin m isfixed between these ears and the,

actuating pawl/n. ,is pivotally mounted screws 1" This, connection between'the rack The V,

thereon. The rackb'ar 0 is made with a bar and the toe piece forms very rigidl" joint; and eliminatesallplay between the two.

The under side of the toe-piece or block,

makes an acute angle with the plane of the under side of the rack-bar; and it is best to make the attaching face of'the toe-piece or block so as to form an acut angle with its under side, since in this way said face is disposed at the proper angle. for rigidly fastening the toe-block to the rack-bar.

These features, together with the'rigid at tachment of the toe-piece or block to the v rack-bar are essential to the successful operation of my shoe stretcher. I

The toe-piece is made removable so that in practice different toe-pieces may-be provided to conform with. different sizesand types of shoes-made for men, women and ratchets and the rack bar will be taken care no children. Any downward playgbetween the of by said inclination of the toe piece, and thus no matter how much pressure is put on the toe piece it always will tend to be forced upward and outward and cannot be depressed below the plane of the bottom of the base a.

My device operate-s as follows: My stretcher being inserted in the shoe the handle is placed in the receptacle j in the block 2' and the toe piece is advanced in the shoe so as to give it the required stretch. The fixed pawl .1; holds all of the pressure while the actuating pawl m is slipped backward to take hold farther back on the bar and will hold the shoe in the point of maxi-. mum stretch. When it is desiredto remove the stretcher from the shoe all that is necessary is to place the linger on the projection m of the pawl 02 and pull backwards and this will allow the rack bar to relieve the pressure on the shoe and the device can be removed easily.

I claim:

1. In a shoe stretcher of the type described, a base constituting a guide way, a rack-bar slidable in said guide-way. the latter being substantially of the same length as the rack-bar, a toe block rigidly attached to one end of the rackbar. and means in eluding a pawl for advancing the rack-bar, the planes of the under sides of the toe-block and the rack-bar making an acute angle with each other for the purpose specified.

2. In a shoe stretcher ot the type described, a base constituting a guide way, a rack-bar slidable in said guide-way, the latter being substantially of the same length as the rack-bar,'a toe block rigidly attached to one end of the rack-bar, and means including a pawl for advancing the rack bar,

the attaching face of said toe-block making an acute angle with the plane of its under side, and the latter making an acute angle with the plane of the under side of the rackbar, for the purpose specified.

V 3. In a shoe stretcher of the type described, a one-piece base constituting a scribed, a. bas constituting a guideway, a

bar slidable in said guideway, a toe-block rigidly attached to one. end of the bar and means for advancing the bar; the planes of the under sides of the toe-block and the rack-bar making an acute angle with each other for the purpose specified. i

5. In a shoe stretcher of the type: described, a base constituting a guide way, a rack-bar slidable in said guide-way, the latter being substantially of the same length as the rack-bar, a toe block rigidly attached to one end of the rack-bar, and means including apavfl for advancing the rack bar, a supplemental pawl adapted to hold the rack bar against reverse movement, the planes of the under sides of the toe block and the rack-bar making an acute angle with each other for the purpose specified.

6. In a shoe stretcher of the type described, a one piece base constituting a guide way, a rack-bar slidable in said guideway, the latter being substantially of the same length as the rack-bar, a toe block. rigidly but removably attached to one end of the rack-bar, and means including a pawl for advancing the rack bar, said advancing means including a removable lever,'and being adapted to lock the rack bar against reverse movement when. said handle is inclined forward, the attaching face of said toe-block making an acute angle with the plane of its under side, and the latter making an acute angle with the plane of the under side of the rack-bar, for the purpose specified.

I JACOB SCHWVIND. 

